[pp.int.general] audio files of the talks

[Christof Leng]

Rick Falkvinge (Piratpartiet) wrote:
> I guess it's about that I'm not so much against the US as I'm against the wielding of monopoly power and subsequent reduction of civil liberties (and economic/cultural diversity). That the source of this behavior currently is the US is just a coincidence.
>   
I would not call the USA the source of it. It is more like they are the
country being infested with it first and probably worst. This nation was
the natural first target for the industry lobbyists as they are
- the biggest market
- the home of many of the big "content" players
- the country with the most influence on world politics
- benefit from the monopolies on an import/export ratio
- and heavy industry lobbying is pretty common there
But their citizens and most of their companies suffer as much or even
more than everyone else on the planet. So, I'd rather call them the
first victim than the source.
> I'd be against it just as much if it came from the Vatican.
>   
Let's not get into religion, politics are already bad enough! :-D

Amelia Andersdotter wrote:

> All things considered, I am not sure that there is a "right context" or "acceptable context" for which there to be expressed an opinion against American mistakes.
Ok, to make this absolutely clear: You should never start pointing your
finger at "the USA", "the Americans", or "the American way", because the
opposition just waits for hitting you with the "Anti-american" death
blow. That's why Amelia is absolutely right, that you shouldn't make
yourself a target by starting an unfruitful discussion about "the
Americans".
But: If the opposition is stupid enough by arguing with "the Americans
do it, thus we must conform" (a quite common argument in my experience),
you can reply with the argument of Eva Lichtenberger. We don't have to
conform, and if we want to, it should be a free (=democratic) decision .
Even if the Americans are right, we are allowed to make our own mistakes.
Actually, I believe that the European countries are too anxious to make
mistakes and therefore only imitate assumedly successful strategies,
which are often out of context, do not apply, or are simply wrong. This
no-risk attitude might be one reason why Europe unsuccessfully tries to
catch up with the American and Asian economies for decades.
> Especially not, when as Rick states, we are basically attacking the very economical system of the state we are addressing.
I completely disagree. The economical system of the USA is the free
market. The pirates (and me personally) believe strongly in the free
market. That's why we fight monopolies (which btw hurt the American
market too).

Christof